Blogging on Good Therapy

Written by Chris Hancock, LCSW

Click here to contact Chris and/or see his GoodTherapy.org Profile

Harry Stack Sullivan, M.D. (1892-1949) was the founder of the interpersonal theory of psychiatry. He is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work with schizophrenics whom he compassionately called “the lonely ones” (Evans, 1996).  A brilliant, complicated, deeply empathic, often irascible intellectual pioneer, he was among the first to deviate from Freud’s structural orthodoxy of the time. Sullivan uniquely viewed human development as forming wholly within the context of culture and inseparable from the interference of anxiety with respect to various patterns and problems in living (i.e. psychopathology). (more…)

Written by Roger Ellerton, PhD, CMC

As a certified NLP trainer, I am often asked, “What is NLP?”

The term NLP stands for neuro-linguistic programming and was coined in the early seventies by John Grinder, an assistant professor of linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Richard Bandler, a student of psychology at the university. They began their work by studying Fritz Perls, a psychotherapist and originator of the Gestalt school of therapy, Virginia Satir, a well-known family therapist and Milton Erickson, a world-famous hypnotherapist. Their intention was to model outstanding therapists and identify patterns in order that other practitioners could use these patterns to generate similar results. It may be said that NLP is about identifying excellence through an exploration of patterns, and then devising means for others to use those patterns to achieve similar results. (more…)

Written by Marcia Breitenbach, MA, LPC

Stephen and Barbara face each other, their bodies tense with adrenaline flowing, filled with the ‘fight or flight’ essence. Words and emotions spill from each, creating an energetic pool of fear and confusion. They are engaged in conflict, one of the many battles this couple has played out in their marital life, and now in my psychotherapy office.

Both are desperately afraid, and I point out to them that this fear is at the root of their ongoing struggles. They are each fearful that the other is going to harm them in some way, and fearful that they are not loved, heard by the other, or respected. (more…)

By Jack Elias, CHT

Hypnosis has been given many definitions over the years, and many authors have debated whether it even exists. These debates and definitions themselves are evidence of what I consider to be the most basic and profound form of hypnosis. My definition identifies the discursive thinking mind (what most of us identify with as our ordinary sense of self) as an ongoing hypnotic process. From this perspective, the ordinary conscious mind contains all the process elements of what traditionally have been called “trance phenomena.” And although the conscious mind approximates reality and makes its constructs seem workable, the mind itself is never accurately in touch with reality. More and more people are now beginning to subscribe to this view, as quantum physics continues to bear out scientific evidence that the nature of reality as described by spiritual masters throughout the ages is not merely metaphor, but actual truth. In fact, this approach to hypnotherapy could as appropriately be called “quantum hypnotherapy” as well as “transpersonal hypnotherapy.” (more…)

Written by Nancy Montagna, PhD

Click here to contact Nancy and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile

The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.

Every now and then, in the midst of the headlong thrust into the next thing on our schedule, we all take a deep breath and pause for a moment of reflection. Ahh….What comes up? If we are honest with ourselves its probably a familiar yearning. “I want to be happier. I want more out of life than this.” Aristotle called happiness “the desire behind all other desires.”

If you are reading this article, chances are you are materially better off than the vast majority of human beings on this planet, so isn’t it more than a bit self-indulgent to want more happiness for yourself? Before you drop this paper and rush on to the next item of your “to do” list, consider this: Happiness is anything but selfish. (more…)

Dear Members, I received a blog post this morning from a caring professional who’s concerned about some of the therapies in our List of Models. This is a topic I’ve addressed in an earlier post called Good Model of Therapy?… Not for us to decide… , but as a result of this post I feel the need to address this again. It is an important topic. First, here is what she writes:

“Healing and powerful? Your website is full of therapies that have been engaging in aggressive marketing campaigns making unsupported claims for years with no evidence to support those claims and some such as CISD have been shown to do more harm than good in a number of reviews of the evidence. The kinds of therapies you promote here are many of the ones I warn people about so I will be warning buyers to beware about your website.

Even though you truthfully state on your list of therapies that not all have empirical support, you also make claims that they are “healing and powerful” and your listing of them on a site entitled goodtherapy.com is aiding and abetting promoters who are making false claims. You do consumers a grave disservice. Now I’ll wait and see if you’ll post this comment on your website but I won’t be holding my breath.”

We’ll I’m happy that you didn’t hold your breath. :) I’m pleased to have the integrity and confidence in the mission of GoodTherapy.org to share your statement and address it publicly. I have a number of points to make:

1. First and foremost, we state clearly here that, “GoodTherapy.org is not in a position to endorse or disapprove any therapy models.”

2. I agree with you that it is irresponsible of us to describe all the therapies in our list as “healing and powerful.” Doing so contradicts our claim that we are nor in a position to endorse these models. I searched our site to find where “healing and powerful” was written and found it on a support page and promptly removed it. This piece of text was unfortunately a left over from an earlier time when GoodTherapy.org had taken up the grandiose task of attempting to completely evaluate and research models before putting them on our list. Our list was much shorter then. Our task is much different now. Thanks for pointing this out to us.

3. If you believe a particular therapy model is harmful, by all means name names. In your post you’ve named CISD and I’m willing to consider the evidence from all sides. If you have others that you believe are harmful, please open a dialogue with me about it. There are numerous opportunities on this blog in which you could share your concerns. You can also contact me individually. I will take your concerns seriously. As I state on our models page “we do reserve the right to exclude models which clearly conflict with the elements of good therapy“ But, let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

4. There are numerous models in our list that I do not practice, have no interest in practicing, and some I am even skeptical of. But we leave the evaluation of therapy models up to people to decide for themselves. Most therapy approaches have some controversy. Even traditional models, such as psychoanalysis, have both followers who are highly in favor (and even tout the miracles of this approach) and naysayers who see the approach as arrogant, condescending, and abusive. I know your concern is really about the possibility of unaware consumers being harmed by dangerous therapy models and I salute you for your compassion. As a therapist and one who has spent many years doing his own work, I know the dangers of bad therapy first hand - it’s why we created this site. I believe knowledge is power and I trust people, generally, to see for themselves, to research, to ask around, to check a therapy model out. This is why we provide links to more information on each therapy model. And this is why we remove some models: because knowledge from a caring person, like you helps us to make an informed decision.

5. We require all consumers who view our List of Models to first view the Terms and Conditions for viewing the Models of Therapy List which clearly warns consumers of the danger of therapy and therapists.

6. We state the following on our Models of Therapy page:

The following is a list of therapies which can, if used accordingly, adhere to the spirit, philosophy, and principles of what we at GoodTherapy.org believe to be “good therapy.” Some have been around for many years, others are relatively new. Some have been grounded in research, others in theory, and some rely on anecdotal evidence. Some are popularly accepted, others are cutting edge, and some controversial. GoodTherapy.org is not in a position to endorse or disapprove any therapy models. Our intention is to promote the use and awareness of the universal elements of good therapy which can be found across therapies. However, we do reserve the right to exclude models which clearly conflict with the elements of good therapy. We encourage you to explore, research, and discover for yourself which therapies may be a fit for you. We’ve included links to other sites with information on these models so you can have any easy starting point. We wish you the best on your journey :)

For those searching for help, please know that even a healthy model of therapy can be used in an unhealthy way. The therapist you choose is a very important factor in whether a therapy intended to work collaboratively and to empower actually does so. Also, the following list is a work in progress; there are therapies not yet listed here. As we become familiar with other approaches we will add them to this list. Click here to suggest a model of therapy that is not on our list.

7. We are in the process of creating a forum where professionals can debate the pros and cons of therapy models. When the forum goes live I hope you will share your concerns with us, if not before.

I look forward to responses from others, any thoughts, feelings, concerns?

Noah :)

Is there an approach to counseling or psychotherapy which is empowering, collaborative, and nonpathologizing, but is not in our List of Therapies?  If so, please feel free to suggest it to us (please be sure to include a link to more infomation) and we’ll consider adding it to the list.  We receive many suggestions to include therapies which are already on our list, so please confirm that your therapy is not already on our list by clicking here.   You can make your suggestion by replying to this post in the reply box below (scroll to the bottom).  If you don’t see a reply box,  click here to make your suggestion.  When you make your suggestion please include a link to a website where we can find more information.   Be aware that your suggestions will be viewed publicly.    Thanks for helping!  Noah :)